Gender
Origin
- Germanic
- Comely
- Celtic
- Egyptian
- Secure
- Teutonic
- God''s protection; a feminine contraction of Anselm
Syllables
2
Themes
- Exotic
Alternate Spellings and Variants of Selma
Pronunciation
s(e)-lma, sel-ma
Popularity in the USA
- Boys: peak in 1919 (rank #2152, 14 births); most recent 1961 (rank #4067, 5 births)
- Girls: peak in 1918 (rank #223, 798 births); most recent 2025 (rank #2778, 61 births)
| Year | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | – | 61 |
| 2024 | – | 61 |
| 2023 | – | 74 |
| 2022 | – | 63 |
| 2021 | – | 63 |
| 2020 | – | 82 |
| 2019 | – | 87 |
| 2018 | – | 79 |
| 2017 | – | 88 |
| 2016 | – | 95 |
Top girl names · Top boy names in the USA (2025)
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), national baby names data (public domain). This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the SSA. Data years: 1880 to 2025. Original data
Popularity in England and Wales
- Girls: peak in 2017 (rank #1219, 28 births); most recent 2025 (rank #2277, 12 births)
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 |
| 2024 | 14 |
| 2023 | 17 |
| 2022 | 13 |
| 2021 | 12 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2019 | 9 |
| 2018 | 9 |
| 2017 | 28 |
| 2016 | 22 |
Top girl names · Top boy names in England and Wales (2025)
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Baby names in England and Wales. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1996 to 2025. Original data · Licence
Popularity in France
- Girls: peak in 2011 (rank #119, 553 births); most recent 2023 (rank #215, 288 births)
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 288 |
| 2022 | 362 |
| 2021 | 381 |
| 2020 | 389 |
| 2019 | 409 |
| 2018 | 434 |
| 2017 | 549 |
| 2016 | 525 |
| 2015 | 542 |
| 2014 | 482 |
Top girl names · Top boy names in France (2023)
Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (last updated 8 July 2024), used under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0. Changes: names are shown in title case, and spellings that differ only by accents are counted together. Data years: 1900 to 2023. Original data · Licence
Popularity in Ireland
- Girls: peak in 2015 (rank #895, 3 births)
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 2025 | – |
| 2024 | – |
| 2023 | – |
| 2022 | – |
| 2021 | – |
| 2020 | – |
| 2019 | – |
| 2018 | – |
| 2017 | – |
| 2016 | – |
Top girl names · Top boy names in Ireland (2025)
Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland, Irish Babies' Names (tables VSA50 and VSA60), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Changes: spellings that differ only by accents (for example Rian and Rían) are counted together. Data years: 1964 to 2025. Original data · Licence
Popularity in Scotland
- Girls: peak in 2015 (rank #806, 3 births)
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 2025 | – |
| 2024 | – |
| 2023 | – |
| 2022 | – |
| 2021 | – |
| 2020 | – |
| 2019 | – |
| 2018 | – |
| 2017 | – |
| 2016 | – |
Top girl names · Top boy names in Scotland (2025)
Source: National Records of Scotland (NRS), Babies' First Names. © Crown copyright. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1974 to 2025. Original data · Licence
Popularity in British Columbia (Canada)
- Girls: peak in 1936 (rank #162, 5 births)
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 2023 | – |
| 2022 | – |
| 2021 | – |
| 2020 | – |
| 2019 | – |
| 2018 | – |
| 2017 | – |
| 2016 | – |
| 2015 | – |
| 2014 | – |
Top girl names · Top boy names in British Columbia (Canada) (2023)
Source: British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency, Most popular baby names for the past 100 years. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia. Changes: names are shown in title case. Data years: 1924 to 2023. Original data · Licence